Electrically heated pressing machine



Oct- 22, 1968 A. SOLOMON 3,405,472

ELECTRICALLY HEATED PRESSING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

ALVIN I. SOLOMON BY HlS ATTORNEY ELECTRICALLY HEATED PRESSING MACHINE- Filed Aug. 15, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ALVIN SOLOMON BY HIS ATTORNEY Oct. 22 1968 A. I. SOLOMON 3,406,472

ELECTRICALLY HEATED PRESSING MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1966 Y 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

ALVIN l. SOLOMON BY HIS ATTORNEY Oct. 22, 1968 5, SQLQMON 3,406,472

ELECTRICALLY HEATED PRESSI-NG MACHINE Filed Aug. 15, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

ALVIN I. SOLOMON BY HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent 015cc 3,406,472 Patented Oct. 22, 1968 3,406,472 ELECTRICALLY HEATED PRESSING MACHINE Alvin I. Solomon, Ill-'24 68th Ave.,

Forest Hills, N.Y. 11375 Filed Aug. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 581,410 9 Claims. (CI. 3817) This invention relates to a pressing machine and more particularly to an electrically heated pressing machine.

Heretofore, there have been many types of pressing machines the majority of which were steam operated and air controlled. These machines were found to have little or no adequate temperature controls for regulating the temperature at the pads and further were slow acting because of the nature of the air operated cylinders functioning to open and close the press.

With the advent of new materials and the necessity for higher production, these old pressing machines could not perform the proper pressing functions. Further, these older machines were not adaptable or flexible enough to convert to more modern and higher speed presses, and the economics of conversion was not feasible because of the conversion costs.

. Recently, permanent pressing, an innovation made pos sible because of newly developed fabrics in the clothing industry, required pressing machines that could develop much higher temperatures at the press pads. Also because of the variety of these new fabrics the temperatures at the press pads had to be provided with an accurate and reliable temperature control as well as providing an even temperature gradient over the pressing surface of the press pad. However, such equipment was not readily available, and the presses'that were available could not perform to the desired specifications laid out by the material manufacturer.

Furthermore the old machines and some of the newly developed machines were large and cumbersome and as a result required a large floor area to utilize the machine and its associated equipment. This feature, of course, was found to be most undesirable. For example, some of the older presses utilized a steam boiler and air vacuum equipment as accessory equipment which added to the size of the area necessary for the pressing machine to use.

The lack of flexibility of the prior art presses, in that little or no temperature control was provided, has prompted new developments which provide not only temperature control but higher pressure, speed of operation and safer presses.

It is the general object of the present invention to avoid and overcome the deficiencies and objections to the prior art devices by providing an electrically heated pressing machine which is easily manufactured and inexpensively produced.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a pressing machine which will permit very high temperatures to be attained at the pressing pads. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a pressing machine which will permit a high degree of temperature control at the press pads and to provide a temperature difierential between the upper and lower press pads when desired.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an even temperature gradient or heat distribution over the surfaces of the press pads.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a pressing machine with little or no auxiliary equipment.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a pressing machine which will have a high pressure at the bucks and the press pads.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fast and yet safer machine to operate.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a pressing machine which will prevent the sucking up of the pressed garment from thelower press pad when the upper press pad is pulled away from the lower pad, without the use of an auxiliary vacuum device.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a pressing machine which utilizes a floating lower press buck.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide an automatic feeding and receiving mechanism with the electrically heated pressing machine when so desired.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art, from the forthcoming description that the objects of the present invention have been achieved by providing an electrically heated pressing machine comprising a frame, a lower press buck resiliently mounted on said frame, an electrically heated lower press pad connected to said lower press buck, a first temperature control device disposed on said frame for controlling the temperature of said lower press pad, an upper support arm pivotably mounted on said frame, an upper press buck connected to said upper buck arm, an electrically heated upper press pad disposed on said upper press buck and being provided with a temperature control device connected thereto, heater means disposed in said upper and lower press pads for distributing heat evenly therein, cylinder means for moving said upper press pad in pressing engagement with said lower press pad and a control panel connected to said frame for providing operating controls for said electrically heated pressing machine.

For a better understanding of the present invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the press showing the bucks closed.

FIGURE 3 is a view from the rear showing the frame open showing the preferred disposition of the cylinders and microswitch arrangement.

FIGURE 4 s a cross sectional view of the pressing machine taken along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view of the lower press buck showing its general construction, and

FIGURE 6 is a cross section of one of the heating elements. 1

Although the principles of the present invention are broadly applicable to pressing machines the present invention is particularly adapted for use in conjunction with electrically heated pressing machines and hence it has been so illustrated and will so be described.

With specific reference to the form of the present invention illustrated in the drawings, and referring particularly to FIGURE 1, an electrically heated pressing machine is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10.

The pressing machine 10 may be provided with a frame 12 and having a hollowed out middle portion 14. Structurally the frame may be provided with a base portion 16 at its bottom and a yoke means 18 extending upwardly from the upper rear portion of the frame 12. The upper front portion 20 of the frame 12 may be provided with a flat surface 22 upon which may be mounted a plate 24. The plate 24 may have connected thereto a pair of brackets 26 which will support a panel box which may house the controls for the electrically heated pressing machine 10. For convenience of the operator, the control panel 28 may be located on the front of the machine, however, the panel may be disposed in any other convenient location.

In order to support a lower press buck 30, a second plate 32 may be resiliently connected to the first plate 24 having a plurality of resilent means 34 separating the two plates. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 the resilient means 34 may take the form of coiled springs however, other forms of resilient means 34 may be used such as rubber grommets or lea-f springs. The use of this essential element will be more fully explained hereinafter. Disposed on the second plate 32 there may be provided a pair of cylindrical members 36 upon which may be fixedly secured the lower press buck 30. Because of the utilization of the resilient means 34 it may be seen that the lower press buck 30 floats, that is, the lower press buck 30 itself may move up and down so that it may give under pressure. Since the lower press buck 30 floats higher pressures may be attained at the buck.

Structurally the lower press buck 30 may be made of two sheets of aluminum 40 having sandwiched therebetween a multiplicity of electric heating elements 38 and a sheet of heat resistant nonflammable material such as asbestos 42. Although aluminum is the preferred material to be used, other materials such as sheet steel may be employed. In order to provide an even temperature gradient over the upper surface 44 of the lower press buck 30, a heat distribution means is employed which consists of placing the heating elements approximately two (2) inches apart so that there will be no hot or cold spots. This placement of the heating elements 38 plus the use of aluminum 40, as the heat transfer material, results in an even heat distribution over the surface 44 of the upper plate of aluminum 40. This is especially true since aluminum itself tends to distribute the heat of the individual heating elements evenly. It should be noted that the heating elements 38 extend almost the entire width of the lower press buck 30 so that the entire upper surface 44 thereof is of an even temperature. Affixed to the upper surface 44 of the lower press buck 30 may be a lower press pad 46 made of material well known to those skilled in the art, such as treated asbestos.

As clearly shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 a temperature control device 48 or thermostat may be connected to the heating elements 38 to provide an independent temperature control mechanism for the lower press pad 30.

In order to provide the pressing operation to properly press a garment placed on the lower press pad 30, an upper press pad 50 may be provided such that it may be lowered into pressing engagement with the lower press pad 46. To this end, pivotably connected to the yoke 18, a support arm 52 may be connected. The free end 54 of the support arm 52 may have hung therefrom and fixed thereto an upper press buck 56. The upper press buck 56 may be constructed in the exact same manner as the lower press buck 30 having its own independently energized electrical heaters 58, heat distribution means 60 and temperature control 62. In this case however, the lower surface 64 of the upper press buck 56 may be provided with the upper press pad 50 such that when the upper and lower press pads (46, 50) are in communication and the requisite heat and pressure are applied, a garment therebetween will be pressed.

Since the temperature at the pads (upper 50 and lower 46) may be set and controlled independently, both pads may be operated at the same temperature or a temperature differential may be obtained, if desired, by merely making the described temperature settings at the individual temperature control devices (48, 62). In this manner almost any practical temperature differential may be obtained and therefore what had been previously unobtainable in prior art pressing machines may be available to the industry.

It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the frames and structural elements of pressing machines are subjected to unusual punishment and therefore these elements must be made of material strong enough to withstand these abuses. One such material for the frame and support arm is cast iron of such composition that it is not brittle. The material utilized in the construction of this device, however, forms no part of this invention.

In order to raise and lower the upper press buck 56 into and out of the required pressing position, a mechanical linkage is required. The support arm 52 is in the form of a yoke with the upper press buck being fixedly connected to an extension of the closed end of the yoke (support arm).

structurally, the support arm 52 may be pivotably connected to the yoke means 18 such that the free end 54 thereof may pivot about the yoke means 18.

As shown in FIGURE 3, three pneumatic cylinders 66 are provided in the lower portion 78 of the frame 12 which provides the necessary power to lift and lower the upper press buck 56. It should be noted that although three cylinders 66 are herein shown to provide the motive force to lift and lower the upper press buck 56, other means may be provided and hence this invention should not be construed to be limited to the use of fluid cylinders. For example, a combination of cylinders and springs might be used to provide the necessary motive force.

In order to lift the upper press buck 56, a C link 68 may be connected between support arm 52 and a master cylinder 70, which is one of the group of cylinders 66. More specifically, the bottom portion 72 of the C link 68 may be connected to the piston rod 74 protruding from the rear end of the master cylinder 70, either directly or through a pair of arms 76, as shown in FIGURE 3. In either case, of direct connection or the use of arms 76, when the master cylinder 70 is filled with fluid the piston rod 74 therein moves rearwardly causing the C link 68 to pivot about its connection in the yoke means 18 thereby forcing the upper press buck 56 downwardly into pressing engagement with the lower press buck 30.

In order to permit the fiow of fluid into the cylinders 66 as well as allowing the exhausting of these cylinders (when the upper press buck is lifted to its open position), a fluid control valve may be provided. The fluid control valve 88 may be connected to the lower portion 78 of the frame, for sake of convenience, and may be of the solenoid control type such that its operation may 'be controlled through a pair of electrical push buttons 82 on the control panel 28 as well as a microswitch 84 positioned in the path of the rearwardly moving piston rod 74 of the master cylinder 70. The positioning and control exercised by the push buttons 82 and microswitch 84 will be hereinafter more fully described.

The cylinders 66 not only are comprised of the master cylinder 76 but also a pair of assist cylinders 86. Their function is to aid the lift and lower feature of the upper press buck 56 and to this end are provided with piston rods 88 which may be directly connected, through tie rods 90 and eye bolts 92, to the rear end 94 of the support arm 52 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. It may be noted that although the assist cylinders 86 are preferred other forms of lift power mechanisms may be provided without departing from the essence of the invention.

Since, in the pressing of garments, it is necessary to expose the garment to heat and pressure for a predetermined time, the upper press buck 56 must be lowered and held downwardly for such a predetermined time. To this end a variable timing device 96 may be mounted on the control panel 28 which will control the length of time the upper press buck 56 is in pressing engagement with the lower press buck 30. Any well known electrical timing device 96 may be used, such as the Hayden Timer model DA 1102. In order to control the lowering and lifting of the upper press buck 56, the timing device 96 may be connected to the fluid control valve 80 and the microswitch 84 which is disposed in the path of the rearwardly moving piston rod 74 of the master cylinder 70. With the upper press buck 56 in its lowered position the piston rod 74 of the master cylinder 78 is extended rearwardly and its end contacts the microswitch 84 which then activates the timing device 96. If the timing device 96 were pre-set for six (6) seconds, the upper press buck 56 would be held in its lowered position for that length of time and thereafter would activate the solenoid of the fluid control valve 80 allowing the cylinders 66 to exhaust permitting the upper press buck 56 to be raised: 0nce this cycle of operation is completed it may be repeated continuously.

It may be seen that a fluid supply (not shown) is necessary to operate the cylinders, however, it is equally clear that other, formerly standard equipment such as steam boilers, vacuum sources and their related equipment, are no longer necessary for the proper operation of this preferred embodiment of the above described invention. Consequently the objects of saving space, reducing the necessity of cumbersome auxiliary equipment and safety have been fulfilled.

As a further safety feature, beside the necessity of pressing two push buttons 82 to start the pressing operation thus requiring the operator to use both hands to start, the control panel 28 my be provided with an emergency stop button 98 to cut off all power in the machine in the event of an emergency.

As may be seen in FIGURE 2, an automatic feed and remove conveyor system 100 may be made integral with the above described electrically heated pressing machine 10. With this conveyor system 100, garments to be pressed may be moved into thepressing machine and removed therefrom automatically. This may be accomplished by providing a loading table 102 on one side of the lower press buck 30 and a removal table 104 on the other side of the lower press buck 30. Both tables (102, 104) are disposed in alignment with the lower press buck 56 such that a belt arrangement 106 may smoothly traverse the loading table 102, lower press buck 56 and removal table 104,

as will be more fully described. The loading table 102 may be provided with a flat top 108 and have a narrow roller 110 on one side thereof closest the lower press buck 30 and a larger diameter roller 112 on the other side of the table top 102 remote from the lower press buck 30. The table top 108 may be supported at its corners by legs 114 which may be removably attached to the floor so that the loading table 102 may be fixed in its position relative to the lower press buck 30 of the electrically heated pressing machine 10.

The removal table 104 may be disposed on the other side of the lower press buck 30 and may be provided with a flat table top 116 having legs 118 depending therefrom which may be removably attached to the fioor to maintain the removal table 104 in a fixed position with respect to said lower press buck 30. A small diameter roller 120 may be rotatably connected to the one end of the removal table 104 closest to the lower press buck 30, and a larger diameter drive roller 122 may be rotatably connected to the remote end of the removal table 104, A drive motor 124 may be attached beneath the removal table 104 and may be linked to the drive roller 122 by means of a chain 126. It should be noted that other means may be utilized for providing a motive force for the drive roller 122 and therefore the present invention should not be construed to utilize only that motive force means hereinabove described.

In order to move a garment from the loading table 102, have the garment pressed and thereafter moved to the removal table 104 a closed end belt 128 may be provided which fits around the large diameter roller 112 and drive roller 122 and runs over the lower press pad 46 of the lower press buck 30. The driving motor 124 may be connected to the microswitch 84 and push buttons 82 to control the belt 128 movement before, during and after the pressing operation. The belt 128 is disposed in such a position (shown in FIGURE 2) that the garment to be pressed may freely be loaded thereon and removed therefrom after the pressing operation. In this respect, the belt 128 will be immobile so that a garment may be placed thereon, thereafter the belt 128 moves carrying the garment onto the lower press pad 46 of the lower press buck 30 and simultaneously the upper press buck 56 moves downwardly into pressing engagement with the lower press buck 30. At the time of the pressing engagement of the upper and lower press bucks (30, 56) the belt 128 is stopped and after the pressing operation the belt 128 moves causing the pressed garment to be moved onto the removable table where the garment may thereafter be removed.

When utilizing the automatic conveyor system 100 it would not be necessary for the operator to control the pressing machine because too much time would be lost in loading a garment to be pressed and thereafter going to the front of the pressing machine to press the double button safety system. In this instance, that is when using the aforedescribed conveyor system, a remote stop and start push button arrangement may be provided such that an operator standing at the loading table 102 may control the operation of the electrically heated pressing machine 10. The timing device 96 may remain on the control panel 28, however, to eliminate the necessity of a too large remote control system.

With the use of the conveyor system 100, it will not be necessary for the upper press buck 56 to be moved far off the lower press buck 30' when the pressing machine 10 is not in its pressing cycle. This may be seen because the operator does not have to reach over the lower press pad 46 to set the garment in position to be pressed as would be necessary without the use of the conveyor 100. Therefore, it may be seen that the spacial distance moved by the upper press buck 56 to accept another garment to be pressed is much smaller when'using the conveyor system 100 and therefore, the entire pressing operation may be accelerated.

In order to adjust the distance necessary to be moved, the fluid control valve may be provided with an adjustment means that will permit an increase or decrease in the speed and amount of fluid sent into the cylinders 66. This adjustment means may also be utilized to increase the speed at which the upper press buck 56 is raised and lowered even when the conveyor system is not in use. This reduced upward movement of the upper press buck 56, of necessity, will reduce the distance the piston rod 74 of the master cylinder 70 moves, so that the position of the microswitch 84 is also adjustable in relation to the desired speed as well as the distance moved by the upper press buck 56.

In operation, first taking the condition where the conveyor system 100 is not in use, it may be seen that the operator adjusts the temperature controls (48, 62) on the upper and lower press (30, 56) buck to the desired temperatures for pressing a particular type of garment fabric and the timing device 96 is set for the lengthof time of pressing. The garment is placed in position on the lower press pad 46, and the operator using both hands, presses the two start buttons on the control panel 28. The solenoid activates the fluid valve '80 to exhaust the cylinders 66 and the upper press buck 56 (with its attached press pad) is lowered into pressing engagement. The piston rod 74 of the master cylinder 70 is at this point fully extended rearwardly such that its rearmost end is in engagement with a microswitch 84 which when contacted activates the timing device 96 on the control panel 28. After a predetermined time interval, the timing device 96 will activate the fiuid valve 80 permitting the proper flow of fluid into the cylinders 66 thereby raising the upper press buck 56 out of pressing engagement with the lower press buck 30 so that the operator may now remove the pressed garment.

It will be noted that the speed at which the upper press buck 56 moves away from the lower press buck 30 may be adjusted so that a sucking up of the garment may be prevented as previously explained. Further, this fluid flow control feature may be utilized to speed up the production of the pressed garments.

Now taking the operational condition where the loading table 102 and removal table are utilized, the operator may place a garment on the flat top 108 over which the belt arrangement 106 passes. The operator will then press the start button 82 on the remote unit (not shown). In this case only a single start button 82 is necessary on the remote unit since the double start button 82 on the control panel 2-8 is only necessary where the operator places the garment on the lower press pad 46, directly, so that both hands are required to start the pressing operation. When the start button is pressed the solenoid in the fluid control valve 80 is activated permitting the cylinders 66 to apply the proper pressure on the C link 68 and tie rods 90 to lower the upper press pad 50. Simultaneously, the drive motor 124 is activated and the belt arrangement 106 moves the garment from the loading table 102 into position on the lower press pad 46. Immediately prior to the upper press pad 50 coming into pressing engagement with the lower press pad 46 and garment, the piston rod 74 of the master cylinder 70 is fully rearwardly extended and contacts the microswitch 84 which deactivates the drive motor 124 and stops the belt arrangement 106 and at the same time activates the timing device 96. At this stage therefore, the upper press pad 50 is in pressing engagement with that portion of the belt arrangement 106 which is over the lower press pad 46. The timing device 96, which is initially set, times the contact time and when that time has elapsed both the fluid control valve 80 and the drive motor are activated. The fluid control valve 80 permits fluid to enter the cylinders 66 in the appropriate direction so that the upper press buck 56 is lifted thereby taking the upper press pad 50' out of pressing engagement with the garment and allowing the belt arrangement to move the pressed garment to the removal table 104. This cycle may then be repeated to permit a plurality of garments to be pressed.

It should be again noted that utilizing the belt arrangement 106 may provide a means of accelerating the production of pressed garments, one reason being that it would not be necessary for the upper press buck 56 to be lifted more than a few inches off the lower press buck 46 to receive another garment. This would mean that the lifting and lowering time of the upper press buck 50 would be substantially reduced.

It will be recognized, from the foregoing description, that an automated or hand operated permanent pressing machine has been provided which is quick acting and safe and one which obtains a high degree of temperature control. Further, the present invention achieves the objects of obtaining hight pressures, greater temperature control, an improved electrical pad heating system, and' all these improved factors with a minimum of auxiliary equipment.

While in accordance with the patent statutes a preferred and alternative embodiment of the present invention have been illustrated and described in detail, it is to be particularly understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby.

I claim:

1. A garment pressing machine comprising a frame, a lower press buck mounted on said frame, an electrically heated lower press pad connected to said lower press buck,

a first temperature control device connected to said lower press pad for controlling the temperature thereof, a support arm pivotably mounted on said frame, an upper press buck connected to said support arm and capable of being lowered into engagement with said lower press buck, an upper press pad connected to said upper press buck, said upper press pad being electrically heated, at second temperature control device in communication with said upper press pad for controlling the temperature thereof, cylinder means in communication with said support arm for lifting and lowering said upper press buck into and out of pressing engagement with said lower press buck, a fluid control valve connected to said cylinder means, a microswitch connected to said frame and in communication with said cylinders and said fluid control valve, a timing mechanism connected to said fluid control valve for timing the length of time of the pressing engagement of the upper and lower press pads, and a control panel disposed on said frame.

2. A pressing machine according to claim 1 wherein said lower press buck is resiliently connected to said frame so that said lower press buck will yield under high pressure.

3. A pressing machine according to claim 1 wherein heat distribution means are provided in said upper and lower press pads for maintaining an even temperature gradient is each of said upper and lower press pads.

4. A pressing machine according to claim 3 wherein said first and second temperature control devices are individually adjustable thereby permitting a temperature differential between said upper and lower press pads.

5. A pressing machine according to claim 4 wherein said lower press buck is resiliently mounted on said frame.

6. A pressing machine according to claim 5 wherein said fluid control valve is adjustable, permitting the speed at which said upper press buck is raised and lowered to be adjusted.

7. A pressing machine according to claim 6 wherein said control panel is provided with a pair of start buttons so that the operator must press the two start buttons to start the pressing machine.

8. A pressing machine according to claim 7 wherein electrical heating elements are laid in spaced parallel relationship in each of said upper and lower press pads for heating each of said pads.

9. A pressing machine according to claim 8 wherein said heat distribution means comprises a plurality of electrical heating elements laid in spaced parallel relationship, an asbestos cover disposed around said heating elements, and an aluminum sheet over said asbestos cover for distributing the heat from said electric heating elements evenly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,644,929 10/1924'7 Ledbetter 38-16 1,682,903 9/1928 Hadaway 38-16 2,523,066 9/1950 Seifert -264 X 2,840,938 7/1958 Hale et a1. 3836 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A GARMENT PRESSING MACHINE COMPRISING A FRAME, A LOWER PRESS BUCK MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, AN ELECTRICALLY HEATED LOWER PRESS PAD CONNECTED TO SAID LOWER PRESS BUCK, A FIRST TEMPERATURE CONTROL DEVICE CONNECTED TO SAID LOWER PRESS PAD FOR CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE THEREOF, A SUPPORT ARM PIVOTABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, AN UPPER PRESS BUCK CONNECTED TO SAID SUPPORT ARM AND CAPABLE OF BEING LOWERED INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID LOWER PRESS BUCK, AN UPPER PRESS PAD CONNECTED TO SAID UPPER PRESS BUCK SAID UPPER PRESS PAD BEING ELECTRICALLY HEATED,A SECOND TEMPERATURE CONTROL DEVICE IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID UPPER PRESS PAD FOR CONTROLLING THE TEMPERATURE THEREOF, CYLINDER 